The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete examination and lack of compliance with previous remand instructions. The Veteran's gastrointestinal disability, including GERD, is being reviewed again for service connection.
The deciding factor: The examiner did not fully consider the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms during active service and their progression over time.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal disability, GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21025774
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 21025774.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral plantar fasciitis and IBS/GERD were denied as there was no evidence of severe health impairment or other symptoms warranting a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's stomach disability. The VA will obtain an addendum opinion from a gastroenterologist to address whether the Veteran's stomach condition is related to service, including exposure to contaminated water and umbilical hernia repair.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in the duty to assist and insufficient opinions regarding service connection for a gastrointestinal disability. The Veteran's symptoms include epigastric burning, regurgitation, nausea without vomiting, persistently recurrent epigastric distress, reflux, substernal pain, sleep disturbance caused by esophageal reflux, diarrhea, dysphagia, Barrett's esophagus, and esophagitis.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a gastrointestinal disability, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active military service.
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